Deborah Bloomfield

An image filled with galaxies was chosen as the first to be released from JWST because it demonstrated the space telescope’s capacities so well. That, however, was just a taster. With more time for light collection, JWST is growing further into its power, as demonstrated by its latest release, part of the Cosmic Evolution Early […]

A New Zealand family discovered more than they bargained for, discovering human remains packed into suitcases after purchasing a storage lot and trailer full of unknown items at auction. The police have since attended the residence and launched a homicide inquiry over the mysterious remains, though the family is not thought to be implicated.   […]

Believed to be the first recorded behavior of its kind, blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) have been observed ambushing fiddler crabs (Minuca pugnax) in a salt marsh in Virginia, USA. The findings are published in the journal Ecology. Advertisement Blue crabs are an aquatic species, with their Latin name Callinectes literally translating as “beautiful swimmer”. However, these […]

A bill to provide free sanitary towels and tampons has been passed in the Scottish parliament in a world-first effort to tackle “period poverty”. Lack of access to sanitary products due to financial limitations, as period poverty is defined, affects people globally and can have a negative effect on mental health and wellbeing. Advertisement Periods […]

Tesla’s Cybertruck has hit yet another road bump. Back in 2019, the plan was to eventually release the clunky-looking pickup for the lean price of $39,900. However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has now suggested that the final specs and price tag of the much-hyped electric vehicle will not be the same as first announced. Advertisement […]

Ever wondered if snakes miss their legs? Youtube creator and inventor Allen Pan wondered just that – and in turn, gifted us this glorious clip. Advertisement Pan’s experiment aimed to allow these limbless reptiles to use four appendages. With the help of snake enthusiast and breeder GranddaddyHerps, he did just that. The video shows the […]

Honeybees display a reduced ability to maintain a straight course after being exposed to common pesticides, according to a new study in the journal Frontiers in Insect Science. Worryingly, the bees’ impaired coordination was correlated with elevated neuronal death in the optic lobe following the ingestion of “sublethal doses” of two agricultural chemicals. Advertisement “Our […]

An AI-driven chatbot technology has allowed one woman to answer questions from beyond the grave at her own funeral, with mourners able to dive into her fascinating life in a morbid but futuristic tribute. The technology was provided by her son, who runs a company that creates “holographic conversational video experiences”, and allowed Holocaust campaigner […]

The Orion Nebula is one of the best-known stellar nurseries. In the vast expanse of interstellar gas, new stars are being born. The Hubble Space Telescope has observed it many times, and the latest image comes from a little area on its outskirts that focuses around the star IX Ori and the effect that has […]

A dangerous animal tranquilizer not approved for human use has been appearing in more and more street drugs like heroin and fentanyl in Massachusetts, according to the Massachusetts Drug Supply Stream (MADDS). The problem has become more noticeable since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and is likely to be indicative of a wider trend […]

In every family tree, there’s someone you’d prefer not to acknowledge. For many paleobiologists that has been Saccorhytus,  an extinct microbe that looked like a talking cactus. What made it particularly embarrassing was that its giant mouth had no counterpart at the rear end. The only thing worse than an arsehole in the family is […]

Monkeys are one of the many animals that can master tools and, staying true to their spirit, they may have used this ability to fashion sex toys out of stones. That’s according to a new study published in the journal Ethology: International Journal of Behavioural Biology.  Advertisement To reach these findings, scientists at the University […]

Learning new things can broaden your horizons, improve your brain function and keep you young at heart. Most of us do the same things every day and the only information we are processing does little to keep our brains fit and our mental health in check, but did you know that a little learning can […]

As one of Britain’s foremost documentary filmmakers, director Pamela Gordon has been working in factual broadcasting for over 30 years. From history to human conflict and even taking TV chef Gordon Ramsey behind bars, her portfolio is rich and varied and most recently includes a feature-length film about lions. Advertisement Lion: The Rise and Fall […]

People in the US will soon be able to get their hands on over-the-counter hearing aids without a prescription or a medical exam thanks to a “historic” new ruling by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The move hopes to make it easier and cheaper for Americans to treat hearing impairment following a goal […]

As heatwaves and droughts continue to grip much of Europe, “hunger stones” from the past have been revealed by the parched rivers and announced a dire warning: “if you can see me, weep.”  Advertisement Hunger stones are a hydrological monument found in some rivers of Central Europe that are revealed when water levels drop. Dating […]

The universe’s expansion stretches space-time itself, including the gravitational waves upon it. The stretching of waves produced when black holes collide could be used to measure that expansion, although we may lack that capacity just yet. Advertisement The discovery that the rate of the universe’s expansion is accelerating struck cosmology like a thunderbolt. Nevertheless, details […]

There’s been a worrying trend recently of talking about monkeypox as if it’s a sexually transmitted infection, or worse, a “gay disease” that won’t affect the majority of people. Neither is true, as a new research letter in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases has made clear. Advertisement The letter reports a case of a […]

How do you spot a narcissist? Some say the clue is in their eyebrows, or their Insta follows, but a new study suggests a different tack: ask them if the moon landings were faked. Sound strange? It shouldn’t: plenty of studies have found that narcissists – people unusually convinced of their own superiority and entitlement […]

It’s hard to measure the impact of any one drug on world history. But here are five drugs we can safely say made a huge difference to our lives, often in ways we didn’t expect. Advertisement They have brought some incredible benefits. But they’ve usually also come with a legacy of complications we need to […]